Group

Jacopo Grilli

Research Scientist (~ Associate Prof) -
email: <jgrilli@ictp.it>

• B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Physics, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
• Ph.D. in Physics with Amos Maritan, Università di Padova, Padova, Italy
• Postdoc with Stefano Allesina, Dept. of Ecology&Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, US
• Omidyar Postdoctoral Fellow, Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM, US

I am a biological physicist, with a background in statistical physics. Broadly speaking, I am interested in understanding complex phenomena starting from simple rules and minimal assumptions. Most of my research is at the interface between statistical physics and ecology, with a particular focus on coexistence, stability, and variability. I also work on different problems in genomics and cell physiology.

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Onofrio Mazzarisi

TLQS Postdoc (joint OGS-ICTP), started November 2023 -
email: <onofrio.mazzarisi@gmail.com>

• B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Physics, Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
• Ph.D. in Physics with Federico Corberi, Università di Salerno, Fisciano, Italy
• Postdoc with M. Smerlak, Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
• Postdoc with D. Reuman, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA

My background is in theoretical physics and my PhD focused on nonequilibrium statistical mechanics. While I keep an active interest in the fundamentals and methods of statistical physics, the focus of my research mostly shifted to its interface with ecology and evolution. I am currently focusing on links between population dynamics and macro-ecological patterns, microbial ecology and physiology and analysis of stochastic time series.

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Mihael Špacapan

Postdoc, started October 2024 -
email: <mihael.spacapan@gmail.com>

• B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Microbiology, Biotechnical faculty, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
• PhD in Biotechnology, Biotechnical faculty, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
• Postdoc with prof. dr. Ines Mandić-Mulec
• ICGEB Arturo Falaschi Fellow, postdoc with dr. Vittorio Venturi at ICGEB, Trieste, Italy

I am a microbiologist with extensive laboratory experience in bacterial genetics andphysiology. My research has mostly been focused on bacterial cell-to-cellcommunication. Now I am working on generating experimental data to construct andtest mathematical models.

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Akari Matsuki

Postdoc, started December 2024 -
email: <akarimatsuki114@gmail.com>

• B.S. in Engineering, The University of Tokyo
• M.S. in Information Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo
• Ph.D. in Information Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo
• Postdoctoral fellow at Laboratory of Mathematical Biology, Faculty of Advanced Life Science, Hokkaido University, Japan

My background is in nonlinear physics, and my recent focus is on interacting microbial communities, which exhibit non-trivial and sometimes complex ecological and evolutionary dynamics. Through theoretical model analysis, I aim to understand the system by extracting the essence. I also work on deciphering data from experiments and environmental samples to elucidate the mechanisms behind them.

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Emanuele Pigani

Postdoc, started May 2025 -
email: <epigani@ictp.it>

• B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Physics, Università degli Studi di Padova, Padua, Italy
• Ph.D. in Natural Sciences within Laboratory of Interdisciplinary Physics, Padua, and Stazione Zoologica Napoli, Naples

I am a statistical physicist by training, with broad interests in applications of statistical mechanics. During my PhD, I developed and applied theoretical frameworks to investigate emergent properties in microbial communities, using phytoplankton as a case study. My research combines theoretical modeling with data-driven approaches to link fundamental principles to ecological dynamics, with particular interest in the functional organization and stability of microbial systems.

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Giuseppe Giuliani

Postdoc student, started January 2026 -
email: <giuseppe.juice@gmail.com>

My interests lie in the application of mathematical and computational methods to biologically or ecologically significant problems. My thesis research broadly focused on the analyzing clinically relevant data and developing mechanistic models to explore how immune-cancer cell interactions in a spatial context affect tumor progression. I am currently exploring how bacterial cell physiology mediates growth trade-offs in fluctuating environments through mathematical modeling and data analysis.

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Javier Aguilar

Postdoc, started April 2026 -
email: <jvrglrschz@gmail.com>

My research focuses on tackling interdisciplinary problems from the perspective of theoretical physics: using minimal models to explore how robust macroscopic patterns emerge from plausible microscopic processes. I currently investigate the impact of empirical procedures in ecology — how data acquisition affects interaction measures and model inference, and how minimal models can inform experimental design.

Annamaria Bupu

Ph.D. student at SISSA (joint ICTP-SISSA), started Oct 2022 -
email: <anna.bupu@gmail.com>

• M.Sc. in Physics, Universitas Indonesia, Depok Indonesia
• B.Sc. in Physics, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia

I am a physics student interested in biological systems, especially in the variation of the composition of microbial communities and their relation with ecological function. My current research centers on investigating the reproducibility of microbial communities at various taxonomical levels using a data-driven approach in combination with models.

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Roaa Mohmmed Yagb Omer

Ph.D. student at SISSA (joint ICTP-SISSA), started Oct 2023 -
email: <romer@sissa.it>

• B.Sc. Scientific Laboratories(Physics), Sudan University of Sciences and Technology, Sudan.
• M.Sc. In Mathematical Sciences, African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Cameroon.
• QLS Diploma Program student at ICTP, September 2021 - August 2022

I am a physics student with a keen interest in studying and modeling biological systems, particularly bacterial cell physiology. My current research focuses on understanding how microbes make decisions in uncertain environments by employing techniques from quantitative physiology and evolutionary dynamics. I aim to explore microbial adaptation, characterizing phenotypic heterogeneity, and determining the roles of bet-hedging and diverse phenotypes in fluctuating environments.

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